Assembly machine



E. LONG ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original a d July 3, 1933 10 She ets-Sheet 1 LELQI p'tzjLolvc Aug. 25, 1936. E. LONG 2,052,356

ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original Filed July 5, 193$ 10 Sheets-Shet' 2 IINVENTOR. LEL67/VD E. Lo/va w 64%;; ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1936.

I... E. LONGr ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original. Filed July 3, 19s:

10 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. .Lzsza/va-fiiLo/vc a 15 1'4TT0RNEYZ Aug. 25, 1936. E. LONG 2,052,356

ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original Filed July 3, 1933 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Ill ' Mr L H II mIIInm INVENTOR. Q. LEL, -/v E. Laws .4 TTORNEYI g v BY (26% Aug. 25, 1936. L. E. LONG ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original Filed July 3, 1933 10 Sheets-Sheet 6 mm I mun l-llll NHL INVENTOR. fLo/vc (44m A TTORNEX Aug. 25, 1936.. 5, LONG 2,052,356

" -ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original Filed July 5, 1953 10 SheQtS- -Sheet 7 r.) u w 67 93 25 3 0 o o 5" o 66 Q 92 5 v 0 FL 69 w "W 1? r; o a K o o w Mu v 63 I 68 6 0 av 73 l 72' o o 9 64 o o 9 o o 9/ l I I o b i E 7 72 h v 88 K Y 0 iNVENTOR.

LL- 0 LT Lo/va ATTORNEY Aug. 25, .1936. L. E. LONG ASSEMBLY MACHINE 10 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed July 3, 1933 INVENTOR. LEL N05 Lo/vc;

A TTORNEX 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 g- LE. LONG ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original Filed July 3, 1933 s m 7 m/ M 4 4 H z 5 1 8 w m m N u M l 7 a 5 ,Z 9 I M Q 7 u.

Y INVENTOR. LELfl/VD .5. LONG ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1935;.

| E. LONG ASSEMBLY MACHINE Original Filed July s, 1933 1o sheets-sheaf 10 I INVENTOR. La n/v0 .Loxvc A TTORNEY.

' Patented Aug. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES ASSEMBLY mom Leland E. Long, Ardmore, Ind; assignor to The Lubrication Corporation, Chicago, lElL, a corporation of Delaware Application July 3, 1933, Serial No. 678,892 Renewed November 29, 1935 22 Claims. (CI. 29-33) This invention relates to improvements in assembly machines and more particularly to machines for automatically assembling lubrication fittings, or nipples, of the type commonly employed on a motor vehicle chassis or upon stationary machinery, for receiving lubricant from a lubricating gun or other similar lubricant feeding apparatus.

While. a lubricant receiving fitting of the spherical headed type is shown within which a valve, a valve spring and a spring retainer may be assembled by the machine, it should be understood that many othertypes of fittings varying as to body contour, maybe assembled by the machine and that the term fittings shall be hereinafter used inits generic sense as comprehending various types of lubricant receiving fittings regardless of body contour.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a machine of the character indicated which will automatically handle the fittings and valves, and which will automatically form and handle the valve springs and spring retainer members to assemble and permanently secure the several elements in their proper operative relationships, and one which will be fast and reliable in operation as-well as entirely automatic as to its joint and several functions so as to relieve the operator of any manual manipulation other than to keep the machine supplied with material and to remove the completed product when ejected from the machine.

With these generalaims in view, the invention contemplates a machine which will automatically 35 remove fittings from a hopper and feed them I out at a time, in inverted position, upon an intermittently rotated turret-like table, where they may be carried upon the table to the where they maybe carried upon the table to the next or second station. 'At'the second station the machine supplies valves from a hopper and automatically feeds them one at each progressive movementof the table into the fitting previously placed upon the table. Further table movement 45 carries the fitting and valve to the third station where valve springs are formed, one at each table movement, and automatically fed into the fitting shank over the valve. From this station the partially assembled fitting is moved by the table to the fourth station where a spring retainer is automatically formed from the length of steel wire and fed over the spring and inverted fitting shank and subsequentlvwelded across the end of the shank to permanently support and confine the 55 valve and spring within the fitting bore. At

a fifth station located betwen the first and fourth stations, the completely assembled fitting is automatically ejected from the machine, through the medium of an air jet, where it may fall intoa suitable receptacle provided thereior. 5

A preferred embodiment of the invention. is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in' which: a

Fig. 1 is a left side elevation of a machine in corporating the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a right side elevation of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the main drive shaft of the machine. r

Fig. 6 is a sectional view along the line VIE-VI of Fig. 5. Fig. '7 is a rear elevation of the apparatus for feeding the blank fitting upon the table of the machine.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 7, showing a part thereof in section.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view along the line IX-IX of Fig. 8. 2

Fig. 10 is a sectional view along the line X-X of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation partially in section of the spring retainer forming apparatus.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view along the line XII-XII 01' Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view through the welding apparatus for the spring retainer.

Fig. 14 is a sectional view through the upper 01! the welding electrodes. Figs. 15-to 18 inclusive represent the fitting as it appears at the termination of the operation at stations one,- two, three and four respectively, an

Fig. 19 is a sectional view through the valve 40 feeding mechanism.---

The driving means Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, it will be observed that the machine is constructed upon a base or bed l5 intended to rest directly upon the floor and that the apparatus for feeding the blank fittings and the apparatus for feeding the valves are mounted upon columns I6 and 11 respectively mounted uponthe base l5. Aplatform I9 is located above the-bed l5 and directly under the turret-table 2| and serves to support the-apparatus for. forming and delivering the valve springs and the apparatus for forming the spring retainer. The welding apparatus is mounted upon the bed I 5 and includes a vertically extending supporting casting 22 which serves also to lend support to the platform i9.

The apparatus for delivering the fitting blank to the table I9 is driven by an electric motor 25. The valve feeding apparatus is likewise operated, independently, by an electric motor indicated by dotted lines at 28 in Fig. 1. The balance of the machine including the table 2| is driven by an electric motor 21 supported upon the bed i5 and having driving connection with a main horizontal drive shaft 28 through a reduction drive unit 28, pinion and gears 3| and 82 respectively and a manually operable clutch 88. The clutch 88 may be manipulated by a hand lever 34 at the front of the machine.

The drive shaft .28 extends through a housing 85 within which the lower end of a vertical shaft 88 is located. The upper end of the vertical shaft 38 is axially aligned with'a shaft 31, to the upper end of which the table 2] is fixed. The ends of the shafts 35 and 31 are feathered to one another by plates 38 and 88 respectively so as to permit the table 2| and shaft 81 to be moved vertically along the axis of the shaft without disturbing its driving connection with the lower vertical shaft 36. a

A circular plate 4| is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 36 within the housing 35 and has supported thereupon, adjacent to its periphery and on its lower face, eight rollers 42 equally spaced from one another and each provided with roller bearings 43. The eight rollers 42 bear the same relationship about the axis of the shaft 36 as do the eight fitting receiving receptacles 44 fixed to the upper surface of the table 21 and located'at equal distances apart from one another. A cam wheel 45, mounted upon the shaft 28 within the housing 35, is arranged to engage with the rollers 42 of the plate 4! so that at each revolution of the shaft 28,;;the table 2|..will be driven through the 'shafts .3 5 and; 31 one-eighth of a revolution, "or throughout ah arc of forty-five degrees. The

cam 48 of the cam wheel 45 is so constructed as to cause rotational movement of the table 2i throughout one hundred degrees of rotation of the shaft 28 thereby leaving two hundred sixty degrees of main shaft rotation wherein no move- .ment of the table may occur. r

A vertical shaft. located at one end of the main shaft 28 and having driving connection therewith through beveledgears 49 and 5| respectively is provided for the purpose of driving the spring forming apparatus of the machine;

An eccentric cam 52 is fixed to the opposite end of the shaft 28 and is employed to elevate a push v rod 53 for operating the welding electrodes of. the spring retainer welding apparatus once during Y each revolution of the main shaft. A second cam 54 is mounted upon the shaft 28 adjacentto the cam 52 for the purpose of actuating the welding current switch as will be hereinafter explained.

' Handling the blank fitting:

Referring now to Figs. 7 to .10 inclusive, the blank fittings as shown in Fig. are initially fed to the machine by disposition within a metal hopper ii, substantially V-shaped in cross sectional contour, as shown in Fig. 10. The hopper is provided with a slot 82 extending along the bottom of the V. No care need be exercised.

to the slot 82 with their shanks inclined downwardly as indicated in dotted lines at 68 in Fig. 9. An endless chain conveyer 84, mounted upon sprockets 85 and 68 respectively, is located beneath and parallel with the slot 82 of the hopper. The chain may be driven through a gear 61 in mesh with a pinion 68 driven by the motor through a reduction gear unit 89. The entire assembly includingtlhe hopper 6 i may be mounted upon a frame II supported, as previously described, upon' the column l6.

A plurality of fingers 12 are supported at spaced distances from one another on the outermost side of the chain 84. Each of the fingers 12 has a pin 13 fixed thereto of adiameter slightly less than the bore I4 of the shank 15 of the fitting blank (see Fig. 15), and of sufiicient length to enter the bore I4 and to support the fitting blank as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 9. Inasmuch as a plurality of the fitting blanks may be expected at all times to lie adjacent to the groove 62 and parallel therewith, those having their shanks extending downwardly may be readily engaged by the pins 13 of the fingers and thus carried upwardly out of the hopper 6i and into a delivery tube 18 where they may fall through the tube into an automatic feeding device ll-including a plunger 18 adapted to reciprocate once during each revolution of the main shaft 28 to convey a fitting blank from the position shown at 19 in dotted lines of Fig. 9 to a position overlying a bore' 8! immediately over a fitting receiving receptacle 44 on the table 2!. The plunger '18 (see Fig. l) is operated through a push rod 82, a rocker arm assembly 83, and a roller and cam 84 and 85 respectively located uponthe rocker. arm and ver:

tical shaft 48 respectively.-

In order to assure the constant feeding of the fitting blanks to the table, one at each progressive movement of the table,.the hopper Si is pref-3,; erably constructed with that portion" parallel to This condition, however, necessitates that some safeguard be provided to prevent the apparatus from becoming jammed, should the tube 16 becomefilled. To this end the tube 16 is severed and parted at 81 so that the fittings must drop from the upper part of the tube 16 to the lower portion 88 thereof, A receptacle 89 fixed to the outer wall of the portion 88 of the tube serves Ito catch an'yfittings which may fail to pass into the lowerportion of the tube by virtue of its befilled with fitting blanks awaiting deliveii'y toithe table through the mechanism 11. 'Ifdesired','the receptacle 88 may have an open- The upper end of the hopper is formed with a fiat bottom wall 82 and with substantially vertical side walls 98, thus providing a v-shaped opening 84 between the upper and the low portions of the hopper so that fitting blanks carried into the upper portion of the hopper along withthose engaged by the fingers 12 may, in sliding back into the lower part of the hopper, move along a path and in a position which will pro- 7o mote their operative engagement with the pins- I3 of the fingers 12, thus increasing the efficiency.

of the fitting handling apparatus.

In operation the apparatus described will, at

each revolution of the main shaft 2l,,deliver 75 the fitting receptacles 44 upon the table 2I.

in Fig. 16, are placed in the machine by disposione of the fitting blanks into the adjacent of The cam 85 is so placed'upon the shaft 48 as to cause delivery of the blank fitting to take place when the table is at rest.

Handling the valves The valves 95, one of which is shown in detail tion in a. hopper 96 where they are automatically fed. withthe inverted stem portion 91 extending downwardly, along aslotted slide way 98 from the hopper into a feeding device 99 similar in operation to the feeding device '11 shown in Fig. 9 and having a plunger IIII operated through a link I02 by the rocker arm assembly 83. The

at the lower ends I04 of the arms is arranged to be reciprocated by a pitman I lit-through an eccentric drive gear, not-shown, which in turn is driven by the motor 26. The slot I91 extending longitudinally of the slide-way 99 is of such a width as to admit only the inverted stem portion 91 of the valve, thus assuring that the valves after once becoming placed upon the slideway will ride along the slide-way with the stem extending through the slotted or inner portion in the manner indicated in Fig. 19. The uppermost edges of the arms I93 may be beveled at substantially 45. as shown at I98, so as to insure the transfer of the valves to the slide-way when the arms are elevated.

type commonly employed for forming small wire springs such asshown at H2 in Fig. 17 may be employed for forming the springs to be used in urging the valve 95 against its seat I I3 in the body of the fitting. This machine is supported upon the table I9 and is synchronized with the drive shaft 29 through the medium of a bevel ring gear II5 carried by the shaft 48 engageablc with a bevel gear H6 mounted upon the drive shaft II'I of the spring forming machine. The

. ratio between the gears H5 and III; is such as to cause the spring forming machine III to form one complete spring at-each revolution of the vertical shaft 48. A tube H8 may be employed to conduct the finished spring fromthe machine III to that receptacle 44 which is, at the time, located ninety degrees from that into which a valve 95 was last dropped. In order that the valve Spring forming machine may be adjusted sothat the finished spring will be delivered at the proper. time, a pair of adjusting ,nuts H9 is provided to permit'of the adjustment of the bevel ring gear II5 relative to the-shaft it; Further, a'driving lock-'pinI2I is employed to permit of the disengagement of the gear H 5 from the shaft 49 so that the spring forming machine may be "operated independently of the balance of the assembly machine, as during adjustment, but

I wherein .pre-established synchronism between the spring forming machine and the shaft 28 may not be impaired. This latter I feature is made ,possible by the provision of but one socket I22 within which the pin I2! may fall in efiecting driving engagement between the ring gear and the shaft 48.

Initial formation of the valve spring retainer The valve spring retainer (see'Fig. 18) comprises a short length of steel wire II4 extending across the end of the shank l5 and welded thereto 1 I at Opposite ends as indicated at I20. To assure the severing of a short length of 'wire from a roll of wire stock, the wire stock indicated at I23, in Fig. 12, is fed between a wheel I24 having a plurality of spaced apart steel notching teeth I25 and a hardened steel roller I26.. The wheel I24 is-mounted upon a shaft I2Twhich in turn is rotatably supported upon a body casting I28 resting upon the table I9. The roller I26 is rotatably mounted upon a shaft I29, the opposite ends of which are disposed in pillow blocks I3I held against movement away from the wheel I24 by adjustable set-screws I32. Compression springs I33 may be employed to urge the blocks yieldingly against the screws I32. A worm wheel I34 is fixed to the opposite end of the shaft 25 II2'I and driven by a worm not shown located upon a vertical shaft I35. A pinion I36 is located upon the shaft I and keyed thereto through the medium of a pair of opposed notched grip plates I3'I- and I38, one secured to the shaft 30 wheel I24 is thus caused to advance a predeterf mined distance during each movement of the table 2I. The distance advanced is that equal The gear to the distance between two adjacent notching teeth I25,

With reference to Fig. 11, it will be seen that the wheel I25 is composed of two longitudinally divided parts M9 and I59 with hardened steel teeth I25 clamped between them separable upon the removal of a nut Iilt. A ring I41 is employed to provide a circumferential abutment against which the inner ends of the teeth I25 may rest. As the teeth become worn, the ring It'I may be replaced with one of larger external diameter thereby greatly increasing the life of the notching teeth which may be expected to become worn extensively through use. In like manner, the hardened steel roller I26 is in the form of an annulus fixed to cast plate I43 thereby permitting the re-- I placement of the work engaging portion of the roller. whenever necessitated, as through wear.

' Ihe wire I23 is conducted between the wheel I24 and the roller I26 through a tube I 5I and after passing between thewheel and roller as during the notching operation the notched wire is further conducted through a tube I52 to a point v over that one of the receptacles 45 that is at the time in registration with 'the welding (see Fig. 14)

-Welding.the spring retainer I Subsequent to the stopping of the table 2I electrodes thereby to cause registration of an inverted fitting .casting 22.

elevated a rocker arm I54 pivotally mounted at I55, intermediate its length, and pivoted at one end I56 to the upper end of the push rod, is caused to move upon its axis and to depress the upper electrode assembly I51. Simultaneously a shoe I58 located on the lower end of a pusher rod I 59 is caused to move downwardly under the force of a compression spring I6I and to depress the table 2i which normally floats under the influence of a compression spring I62 in that position indicated in Fig. 13. The pusher rod I 59 is connected by horizontal arm I63 to the upper electrode assembly I51. As the table 2| is depressed in the manner described a copper contact member I64 mounted upon the lower face of the support I65 upon which the receptacle 44 is located is urged into contact with a stationary contact shoe I66 or electrode carried by a horizontal support bar I61 adjustably mounted at I68 to the supporting The upper electrode I69, under the influence of the push rod 53 as described, is simultaneously caused to descend and to engage with those portions ofthe notchedwire which overlie diametrically opposite portions of the inverted end of the shank 15 of the fitting blank. At the time at which contact under thrust between the welding electrodes and fitting assembly is established the cam 54 (see'Fig. 3) is caused to engage with and operate a switch arm' I1I of a switch I12 included in series in the secondary electrical circuit I66 of the welding transformer shown in Fig. 4 thereby to conduct current induced from the transformer primary I53 to the electrodes. Included in series with the switch I12 is a second switch I13 that is normally closed when the hand switch I13 to open the welding circuit. It is thus impossible for one to shut down mechanical operation of the machine by opening the clutch 33 without also shutting off the welding current so that the hazard of serious damage to the electrodes and table 2I through the passage of welding current therethrough for an undue duration of time is obviated.

The upper electrode I69 of the welding apparatus is, as shown in Fig. 14, formed somewhat after the fashion of centering pin of a lathe so that it may be removed at will from its supporting cylinder I 11 for replacement or repair. Means for cooling the upper electrode is provided for in a water circulatory system including an inlet pipe I18 and an outlet pipe I19, in combination with a circulating tube I8I located within the cylinder I11, so as to direct incoming water upon the inner I end I82 of the bore of the electrode after which it is removed through the pipe I19. In like manner the lower electrode I66 is cooled by a water circulating tube I83 adapted to convey water up into the bore I84 of the lower electrode.

Eiecting the completed fitting the fourth station is carried on the table through an arc of 45 to the ejecting or fifth station where air, admitted through a tube I85 in registration with a bore I86 extending through the block I and receptacle 44, iscaused to forceablyeject the completed fitting from the receptacle and from the table where it may fall into a suitable recep- .tacle provided therefor.

tube I is caused to operate to admit air to the bore I86 at the termination of each table movement by means of a star cam I89 secured to the .underside of the table 2I and engaging at its periphery with the valve stem I9I of the valve.

It is believed that the construction and operation will be understood from the foregoing description of what is, at present, the preferred form of the invention. Of course, various changes and modifications in construction and operation may be made and may result in a machine bearing little resemblance to that illustrated. Therefore, it is not desired to be limited to the details of construction illustrated and described but only by the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What I-claim is:

1. In a machine of the character decribed, the combination of a table adapted for cyclatory movement, a plurality of means spaced about said table at predetermined distances apart from one another for depositing a fitting having a bore therethrough and including a shank portion, a valve, and a valve spring respectively upon the .table in predetermined sequence as the table progresses through its cyclatory movement, means for supplying a valve and spring retainer to the fitting, and automatic means including a plunger for pressing said retainer'into engagement with said shank, and mechanism for securing the retainer to said shank thereby to render said fitting, valve, spring, and retainer assembly permanent.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a table arranged. for intermittent cyclatory movement, means for placing a blank fitting having a bore therethrough and including a shank portion upon the table, means for depositing a valve in the fitting bore, automatic means for forming and delivering a valve spring into the fitting bore, and means for permanently assembling the elements thus initially assembled, each of. said means being adapted to complete its respective function once for every intermittent movement of the table.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of an intermittently revolving table, means for feeding a succession of blank fittings, each having abore therein, upon said table, means for feeding a valve and a valve spring successively into each of said fitting bores and means for fixing a valve and spring retainer to each fitting partially to close said bore permanently to assemble the parts, said feeding means and said retainer fixing means being arranged circumferentially about the table and operable during the intervals between table movements.-

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a revolvable table having a plurality of receptacles located one in each of a plurality of equally divided sectors of the table respectively, means for supplying blank fittings, each having a bore therein, to the receptacles, and a plurality of means spaced about the table for delivering valves, valve springs and spring retainers in sequence to the blank fittings, said valve and valve springs being deposited in the bores of said fittings and said retainer being deposited across the mouth'of said bores, each of said means having its delivery instrumentality in registration with one of said receptacles when A valve I81 in the air the table is at rest, and means including a continuously running motor for intermittently revolving said table a distance equal to one sector of the table.

5. An assembly machine of the character described comprising, a table adapted to support a plurality of blank fittings during the' assembly of parts therein, driving means for intermttently and progressively rotating said table a fraction of a revolution, means for depositing avblank fitting on the table, means for depositing a valve in said blank fitting on said table, each of said depositing means being synchronized with said driving means and effective between table movements, means for placing a valve spring over the valve in said blank fitting, means driven by said driving means for pre-forming a spring retainer, and welding means for welding said retainer across the shank-of the fitting to hold the valve and spring in'place, said blank fitting, valve and spring depositing means and said welding means being each located'at predetermined distances apart from one another about the periphery oi said table. I

6. Ina machine of the character described, the combination of means for successively feeding a plurality of fittings, means for assembling avalve within said fitting, and automatic means for forming a valve retainer for said fitting from a length of metal wire and for welding the retainer -to the fitting.

l 7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for successively feeding a plurality of fittings, means for assembling a-valve within said fitting, and automatic means for constructing a permanent ,valve retainer for said fitting from a length of metal wire, said last named means including a wire notching device and a welding mechanism for welding the wire 40 across the base of the fitting transversely of the axis of the bore of the fitting.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a work supporting table mounted for movement on a vertical axis, resilient means for holding said table in an elevated position, welding means including a relatively stationary electrode beneath the table and normally spaced 'aparttherefrom, and a movable electrode above the table, and means for depressing the upper 59 electrode and for simultaneously urging the table downwardly into engagement with the lower electrode.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a work supporting table mounted for movement on a-vertical axis, resilient means for holding said table in an elevated position, welding means including anpelectrode beneath the table and normally spaced apart therefrom, and a movable electrode above the table, means Z for depressing the upper electrode and for simultaneously urging the table downwardly into engement with the lower electrode, and a switch for controlling the supply of current to said electrodes arranged to close the electrode circuit upon operation of said last named means as described.- 10, In a machine of the character described,

the combination of a table mounted for cyclatory movement, a motor; means including a clutch and an intermittent drive mechanism for intermittently and progressively moving said table throughout its cycle of operation, automatic means for assembling a, fitting upon said table,

welding apparatus for welding a portion of said fitting assembly when on said table during that time wherein the table'is stationary, and means included in the welding current circuit for open! ing the circuit when said clutch is disengaged,

regardless oi the position of the table.

11. In a machine of the character described,

thecombination of a table adapted for inter- *6 said bores selectively as the table is rotated, and 1 v a valve for admitting compressed air to said Jet operable upon registration of the jet with said bores to eject the completed fittings from the table.

12. In a machine of the character described,

a hopper for receiving fittings having an aperture at the one end, means-for conducting said fittings away from said hopper and means for transferring said fittings from said hopper to said conducting means in substantially axial 25 alignment and with their apertured ends facing in one direction, said first named means including vertically aligned tubular members mounted with a gap therebetween, said gap being of a length greater than the length of a fitting, and w a receptacle adjacent to the upper end of the lower tubular member and adjacent to said gap for the reception of fittings falling out of their normal path of movement at the gap.

13. In an assembling machine or the charac- 35 ter described, the combination of a table adapted for cyclatory movement in a series of intermittent steps, means for driving the table and for indexing the table at the termination of each step in its intermittent travel, a. plurality of guide til means at predetermined positions along the path of movement or the table for guiding elements to be assembled under the force of gravity toward the table, and means synchronized with said indexing means for delivering said elements, one it at a time, from each of said guide means upon the table after each indexing of the table, said last named means including. members having openings transversely therethrough adapted to reciprocate across the path oi said eleents in til said gravity guide means once for each indeg of the table. I

14. In a, lubrication fitting assembly machine in combination, a support, means for fee blank lubrication fittings in succession to said 55 support, each of said fittings having a bore, means for automatically feeding a valve and avalve spring into the bore of each fitting, and welding means operative automatically to secure the valve spring in each fitting. W

15. In a lubrication fitting assembly machine in combination, asupport, means for feeding blank lubrication fittings in succession to said support, each of said fittings having abore, means I for automatically feeg a valve and a valve spring into the bore of each fitting, and welding means automatically operable after assembly oi a valve and valve spring with each fitti for securing the assembly together.

is. In a lubrication fitting assembly enme' i in combination, a. support, means for reading blank lubrication fittings inT succession to said support, each of said fittings having a bore, means for automatically teeth a valve and a valve spring into the bore of each fitting, me tor i and means for fixing each retainer to its fitting against the exit of the spring from the bore thereof.

1'7. In a lubrication fitting assembly machine in combination, a. plurality of fitting holders, means for feeding a blank lubrication fitting to each holder, each of said fittings having a bore providing a valve seat, means for inserting a valve in the bore of each fitting, and means for securing a retainer for each valve to each fitting.

18. In a. lubrication fitting assembly machine in combination, a plurality of fitting holders, means for feeding a blank lubrication fitting to each holder, each of said fittings having a bore providing a valve seat, means for inserting a valve and a valve spring into the bore of each fitting, and means for welding a spring retainer to the fitting in the path of exit of the spring.

19. In a lubrication fitting assembly machine in combination, a plurality of lubricant fitting receivers, means for feeding a lubricant fitting to each receiver, each of said fittings having a bore providing a valve seat, means for feeding a valve and a valve spring into each fitting bore, and means operable after assembly of a valve and a spring with each fitting for securing the.

assembly permanently together.

20. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a table, means for feeding a succession of blank fittings, each having a, bore, upon said table, automatic means for feeding a supplying a valve spring retainer to each fitting,

valve and a valve spring into the bore of each of said fittings, means for supplying valve spring retainers, and means operable upon the assembly of said parts for fixing a spring retainer per- -manently to each of said fittings partially to close 5 the bore of each of said fittings.

21. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a table, means for feeding a succession of blank fittings, each having a bore, upon said table, automatic means for feeding a valve and a valve spring into the bore ofeach of said fittings, means for supplying valve spring retainers, means operable upon the assembly of said parts for fixing one of said retainers permanently to each of said fittings partially to close the bore of each fitting, and automatic means for ejecting the permanently assembled fitting from the machine. I

22. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a work receiving table, means for depositing a blank fitting in an inverted position upon the table, said fitting having a shank,

a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, and an enlargement of the bore in the shank, a gravity conveyor for conducting a valve having an elongated stem with said stem in vertical position into said fitting when the fitting is on the table, said conveyor means including a slideway having a longitudinal slot therein, the slot being wider than the valve stem but of less width than the body of the valve.

LELAND E. LONG. 

